Meet The Team

Sheriff Ed Gonzalez, a lifelong Houstonian, was elected on November 8, 2016 as the Sheriff of Harris County. On January 1, 2017, Gonzalez became the 30th Sheriff of Harris County, Texas.

Sheriff Gonzalez earned a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from the University of Houston Downtown and went on to serve 18 years in the Houston Police Department. Sheriff Gonzalez started out as a civilian employee and became a police officer, rising through the ranks to Sergeant. He served on the elite hostage negotiation team and was assigned to the Homicide Division as an investigator.

After retiring from the Houston Police Department in 2009, Sheriff Gonzalez served three terms on the Houston City Council representing District H. He was elected by his peers in 2010 to serve as Vice Mayor Pro-Tem and was appointed Mayor Pro-Tem in 2012 by Mayor Annise Parker.

Sheriff Gonzalez chaired the council’s Public Safety & Homeland Security Committee. Sheriff Gonzalez resorted to the core of his law enforcement background and experience to improve public safety and neighborhood protection.

The Harris County Sheriff’s Office is the largest Sheriff Office in the State of Texas, and the third largest nationwide. Sheriff Gonzalez leads upwards of 5,000 employees to protect the County’s 4.5 million residents within the 1,700 square miles of Harris County.